Roman Marriage ContractAfter the parties had
agreed to marry, a meeting of friends was sometimes held at
the house of the maiden for the purpose of settling the
marriage-contract, which was called sponsalia which was
written on tablets and signed by both parties. The man put a
ring on the finger of his betrothed, as a pledge of his
fidelity. This ring was probably, like all rings at this
time, worn on the left hand, and on the finger next to the
smallest. The last point to be fixed was the day on which
the marriage was to take place.

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Roman Marriage

Roman Marriage - the
Wedding DayThe Romans believed that
certain days were unfortunate for the performance of the
marriage rites due to certain religious observances. Days
not suitable for weddings were the
Kalends, Nones, and Ides
of every month, the whole months of May and February and on
various festival days. The date of the marriage was never
fixed without consulting the auspices.

Roman Marriage -
Legal Marriages and CeremoniesA legal marriage was made
in three different ways, called confarreatio, usus and
coemptio. The first of these was the most ancient.

Confarreatio:
Farreum was a form
of marriage by Patricians in which certain words were used in the
presence of ten witnesses, and were accompanied by certain religious
ceremonies. A priest, in the presence of ten witnesses, made an
offering to the gods consisting of a cake composed of salt water and
containing the kind of flour called “far”, from which the name of
the ceremony was derived. The bride and bridegroom mutually partook
of this, to denote the union that was to subsist between them, and
the sacrifice of a sheep ratified the interchange of their vows
***

Usus: When a woman, with
the consent of her parents or guardian, lived an entire year with a
man, with the intention of becoming his wife, it was called usus. *** Coemptio was an imaginary
purchase which the husband and wife made of each other, by the
exchange of some pieces of money

Roman MarriageInteresting facts and information about the
Roman Marriage:

It was forbidden among the
Romans for a man to have more than one wife ***

The marriageable age was
from fourteen years old for men and twelve years old for girls ***

A marriage ceremony was
never solemnized without consulting the auspices, and offering
sacrifices to the gods, particularly to Juno ***

Originally there was no
marriage between the Patricians and the Plebeians; but this was
altered by the Lex Canuleia which allowed the marriage between
persons of those two classes ***

There were no legal marriages between Roman
slaves

Romans were not allowed to marry non Romans citizens, foreigners ***

There were no legal marriages between Roman
slaves

A man could only have one
lawful wife at a time ***

The power of the father
over the children of the marriage was absolute - he had the power of
life and death over the children ***

Marriage was established by
consent, and continued by dissent; for the dissent of either party,
when formally expressed, could dissolve the relation ***

When a marriage was
dissolved, the parties to it might marry again; but it was
considered it more decent for a woman not to marry again.

Women and Roman MarriageThe position of Roman women
after marriage was very different from that of a Greek
woman. Roman women presided over the whole household; she
educated her children, watched over and preserved the honour
of the house, and as the materfamilias she shared the
honours and respect shown to her husband. Far from being
confined like the Greek women to a distinct apartment, the
Roman matron, at least during the later centuries of the
republic, occupied the most important part of the house, the
atrium.

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History, Facts and information about Roman Marriage *** The times and people of Ancient Rome *** The society, culture and life of the Romans *** The Romans and life in Ancient Rome *** Roman Marriage *** Roman Marriage *** Ancient history, facts and interesting information about the Romans